6 Must-Start Players for Week 14 | The Primer (Ep. 1881)

Summary

FantasyPros Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode: 6 Must-Start Players for Week 14 | The Primer (Ep. 1881)
Date: December 5, 2025
Hosts: Seth Wilcox & Derrick Brown (D-Bro)

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Episode Overview

With playoff hopes on the line in the final week of the fantasy football regular season, Seth Wilcox and Derrick Brown break down their top six must-start sleeper players for Week 14. They focus on actionable, under-the-radar recommendations for managers facing tricky lineup decisions due to injuries or byes, and back up their picks with matchup data, player trends, and sharp analysis.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Quarterback: Tyrod Taylor, NYG

• Why Start Tyrod Taylor?
  • Currently ranked QB19 in Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR), but D-Bro and Seth are bullish.
  • He brings rushing equity: "If he scores just a rushing touchdown, he probably is a QB one just automatically." - Seth Wilcox (05:05)
  • Faces Miami—a defense allowing the 12th most yards per attempt and passing yards per game since Week 9.
  • Miami struggles to contain running QBs, giving up the third most rushing yards to quarterbacks over the last month; Taylor had 44 rushing yards last week, and 48 in his Week 3 start.
• Quote:
  "Tyrod, if he finishes as a QB one again this week, I will not be surprised, sir." — Derrick Brown (06:10)
• Start Taylor Over?
  • Conversation about playing Taylor over Tua Tagovailoa, Caleb Williams, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, and Sam Darnold. Both hosts clearly prefer Taylor over some "name" QBs this week.

Timestamp: 05:12–07:27

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2. Quarterback: C.J. Stroud, HOU

• Why Start CJ Stroud?
  • Texans face the Chiefs, who are a "pass funnel" defense—very tough against the run, susceptible to the pass (6th highest YPA, 5th most passing yards allowed since Week 9).
  • Low pressure rate from KC means Stroud should have a clean pocket.
  • Houston likely forced to throw to keep pace with Mahomes.
• Quote:
  "You cannot run the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs. So if the Texans want to get points on the board, they’re going to have to freaking throw it. And you could do that with a lot of success versus Kansas City." — Seth Wilcox (07:45)
• Concerns:
  • Potential risk if the game turns into a “dog fight” and stays low-scoring, but even 20 points might mean two passing touchdowns for Stroud.

Timestamp: 07:45–09:58

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3. Running Back: Blake Corum, LA Rams

• Why Start Blake Corum?
  • Emergent flex/RB2 play as Rams look to keep Kyren Williams fresh, especially with Williams nursing a real ankle injury.
  • Corum has averaged 10 carries per game and has 12 red zone carries since Week 7.
  • Matchup vs. Arizona Cardinals: defense allows the 8th most rushing yards, 2nd highest missed tackle rate, and 8th highest explosive run rate since Week 9.
• Quote:
  "He’s a strong flex play this week… Corum could get live in the 10–15 touch range… he’s playing a run defense that has given up efficiency to running backs and he has touchdown equity… Why not, man?" — Seth Wilcox (11:43)
• Notable Stats:
  • Top 12 in explosive run rate and missed tackle rate.
  • Cardinals allow the most touchdowns to RBs over the past month (7 total: 5 rushing, 2 receiving).
• Analyst Insight:
  • Injury updates from Dr. Deepak Chona suggest Williams will remain limited, and Corum could see 40% of touches.

Timestamp: 10:06–13:59

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4. Wide Receiver: Jaden Higgins, HOU

• Why Start Jaden Higgins?
  • Quietly producing: WR24 in fantasy PPG since Week 10, with two top-24 finishes.
  • 18.5% target share, 4 red zone targets, and 5 deep targets in the last four games.
  • Chiefs allow the 5th most PPR points per target to perimeter WRs since Week 9.
• Quote:
  "Since week 10, I don’t think a lot of people would tell you out there Jaden Higgins has been the wide receiver 24 in fantasy points per game." — Derrick Brown (14:34)
  • Seth and D-Bro consider him a better flex this week than players like Alec Pierce, Brian Thomas Jr., Chris Godwin, Romeo Doubs, Xavier Worthy, and Quentin Johnston.
• Rest of Season Outlook:
  • "Wide receiver three moving forward… if they just bump him up to an 80% route share, borderline wide receiver two territory." — Seth Wilcox (17:27)

Timestamp: 14:34–17:59

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5. Wide Receiver: Jerry Jeudy, CLE

• Why Start Jerry Jeudy?
  • More of a ceiling play/flex option for those needing upside.
  • Role as Browns’ primary deep threat: 3 deep targets in the last two weeks; Shadur Sanders shows 8th-highest deep ball rate in that span.
  • Titans’ defense: 3rd highest deep ball completion rate allowed, 2nd most deep passing yards per game since Week 9.
• Quote:
  "He has owned the deep passing role in the Cleveland Browns passing attack... match that up with a Tennessee secondary that has struggled… you are feeling pretty freaking good about that in PPR formats or half point formats, and you’ll take that from a flex play." — Seth Wilcox (18:09)
• Game Environment Factors:
  • Browns favored, Tennessee gives up 20+ points regularly and struggles to create turnovers; weather shouldn't faze former Boulder QB Shadur Sanders.

Timestamp: 18:09–20:51

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6. Tight End: Dallas Goedert, PHI

• Why Start Dallas Goedert?
  • Currently TE16 in ECR despite a top-10 per-game production this year.
  • Chargers’ defense uses too-high coverage often; Goedert owns a strong 18.6% target share and 21.1% first down share against such looks.
  • Chargers allow the 12th highest yards per reception and 8th most touchdowns to TEs—even though they face few total targets, when TEs are used, they succeed.
• Quote:
  "Dallas Goddard, dude, is tight end 16 in ECR this week. I don’t understand it but I’ll take advantage… Everything points to Dallas Goddard and he shouldn’t be labeled or ranked as a tight end 2 this week. He will be a top 12 option for me." — Seth Wilcox (20:51)
• Analyst Note:
  • Recent fantasy slog and “surface” stats for LAC disguise a real opportunity here.

Timestamp: 20:51–22:24

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You get all the fantasy football takes, all the Christmas decorating tips you need, as well." — Derrick Brown (03:54)
• On Christmas lights:
  "I am not a Christmas lights guy. Two story house. I told my wife when we got this house, you will not see me… I'm not Santa Clausing this thing… breaking my collarbone or some crap, doesn't happen." — Seth Wilcox (02:52)
• "If both of those [Houston] touchdowns come through the air and not on the ground… CJ Stroud throws for multiple touchdowns and then we're just having a conversation about yardage." — Seth Wilcox (09:40)
• On lineup strategy:
  "This is one of those where you're playing the matchup… you could pick [Jerry Jeudy] up off the waiver wire and if he gets 70 in a touchdown, you are feeling pretty freaking good." — Seth Wilcox (19:28)

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Summary Table: Must-Start Players for Week 14

| Position | Player | Reason to Start | Opponent | Key Supporting Stat/Insight | |-------------|-------------------|---------------------------------------------|-------------------|-----------------------------------------------| | QB | Tyrod Taylor | Dual threat, great matchup, rushing floor | Miami | Dolphins 3rd-most QB rush yards last month | | QB | C.J. Stroud | Must throw to win vs tough run D | Kansas City | KC 6th in pass YPA allowed since Wk 9 | | RB | Blake Corum | Flex/RB2, growing role, soft run D | Arizona | Cards give up 8th-most rush yards since Wk 9 | | WR | Jaden Higgins | Perimeter deep/red-zone targets, trending up| Kansas City | WR24 in PPG since Wk 10 | | WR | Jerry Jeudy | High-ceiling deep threat, plus matchup | Tennessee | Titans 3rd-highest deep ball comp. rate | | TE | Dallas Goedert | Underrated, great split vs. coverage, TD up | Chargers | LAC 12th in YPR, 8th in TDs to TEs |

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------|-------------| | Intro, Playoff Stakes | 00:35–05:12 | | Tyrod Taylor QB Recommendation | 05:12–07:27 | | C.J. Stroud QB Recommendation | 07:45–09:58 | | Blake Corum RB Recommendation | 10:06–13:59 | | Jaden Higgins WR Recommendation | 14:34–17:59 | | Jerry Jeudy WR Recommendation | 18:09–20:51 | | Dallas Goedert TE Recommendation | 20:51–22:24 |

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Final Thoughts

The hosts emphasize boldness in making tough Week 14 decisions to secure a playoff spot. With the byes and a slew of questionable starters, targeting leverage plays like Tyrod Taylor, C.J. Stroud, and emerging plays like Blake Corum and Jaden Higgins could be the difference-makers for fantasy managers.

Derrick Brown's closing message:
“That’s going to do it for us on this episode... Comment down below your favorite week 14 sleeper starts… Did you get your Christmas lights up yet?… For Derrick Brown, I'm Seth Wilcox. Take care y’all.” (22:24)

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Transcript

[Seth Wilcox]

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[Derrick Brown]

All right, and welcome into the fantasy pros fantasy football podcast. It's do or die time with playoff berths up for grabs. We'll get you set for the occasion with our week 14 primer episode where we'll give out our top six sleeper starts with matchups to exploit. I'm your host Seth Wilcox, back from Thanksgiving break with the one and only Derrick Brown Dbro. How are you heading into the last week of the fantasy football regular season? And has the fam gotten up the Christmas tree yet?

[Seth Wilcox]

Oh, dude, we had the Christmas tree put up. Thanksgiving was. Dude, we were. My wife and I were cooking all day and we told the kids like earlier in the week and we kind of forgot about it. But, like, we got to the point where like, oh, we're putting up the tree the same day we put up our tree on. On Thanksgiving, like Thanksgiving day. And my kids, like, we got down, we were sitting down. I was like watching football and I was kind of just taking a second just to be. And the kids were like, hey, so when are we putting up the tree? And I was like, oh, crap, we did say that. All right, come let me get in the attic. Boxers are coming down. Let's get it. But yeah, dude. So Thanksgiving was putting up the tree, getting ready for Christmas and having Thanksgiving all in one day. Dude, we're ready to go.

[Derrick Brown]

What about you?

[Seth Wilcox]

Have you got the tree up yet?

[Derrick Brown]

Not quite yet. Usually it is the day after Thanksgiving type of situation where the fiance is like, hey, go get the Christmas pins from the basement. Let's start doing this. But were doing a little traveling from her family to my family. I was out hunting over the weekend as well. So no success so far on the tree. Over. Under five totes for your family.

[Podcast Announcer]

How.

[Derrick Brown]

How many you guys ripping out for for Christmas?

[Seth Wilcox]

Jeez. One, two, six, seven.

[Derrick Brown]

Okay, there. So the over. So we're taking the over there?

[Seth Wilcox]

Yeah, we're taking the over the overs. Yeah, Minus money.

[Derrick Brown]

I think we're about at like three now, but we're still pretty, like, young into home ownership and like, having your own decorations.

[Seth Wilcox]

So we've got ornaments from my wife because my wife and I have been together since high school. We've got ornaments all the way back from like 20 years ago, plus all the stuff the kids have made, plus things we have. And then it's like, you know, then it's going down memory lane. Like, every ornament every year comes out. Everybody's like, oh, look at this. Oh, let me tell you the story about this one. So it's. It's all production, dude.

[Derrick Brown]

Production. Do you get out on the ladder outside with the. With the staple gun and start putting them. The lights in the side? No, no, no, no.

[Seth Wilcox]

I am not a Christmas lights guy. Two story house. I told my wife when we got this house, I was like, you will not see me. I'm not Santa clausing this thing. I'm not falling off the freaking roof. So, no, we put stuff in the front yard. I will put lights in the bushes. You will not see my bald head on a freaking giant ladder two stories up falling off and breaking my collarbone or some crap. Doesn't happen.

[United Airlines Advertiser]

Nope.

[Derrick Brown]

I. I was getting my sea legs under me. I was putting up the Starlink last weekend and I was like, okay, I. I think I have a pretty good, like, lay the land now. I think next year we're gonna try to do lights. I think I'm gonna do those ones you can leave in all year round. Right. So you can do like 4th of July lights and Halloween lights and things like that. I think that's the play where you just do it.

[Seth Wilcox]

Make sure the insurance. Make sure the insurance and the life insurance is curtain current before you hop up there on the roof.

[Derrick Brown]

Good point.

[Seth Wilcox]

Just saying.

[Derrick Brown]

Good point. I. I do have a. An old Steelers helmet somewhere in the closet. So maybe I'll. I'll pull that out, make sure that we're protected and we're going down swinging.

[Seth Wilcox]

Bait.

Rolls of bubble wrap.

[Derrick Brown]

Yeah.

[Seth Wilcox]

Good lord.

[Derrick Brown]

Before we jump into things, folks, shout out to everyone who's joining us, either on the Fancy Pros YouTube channel or the audio feed. Thank you so much for all the support this season. We really appreciate it. Please do a quick favor. Give this video a thumbs up. Also, subscribe if you're new. Help us get to 300,000 subscribers by the end of the season. We get all the fans, football takes, all the Christmas decorating tips you need as well as. And also if you Want a chance to win a sign Bijan Robinson and Drake London autograph mini helmet for free. That's right. A two for one special folks, courtesy of our friends over at pristine auction.com all you need to do is head to fancyprose.com contest complete the form neither a go ahead and download that free Fantasy Pros app B leave review for the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football podcast or C follow us on x Instagram or TikTok. We are at Fantasy Pros. The more actions you complete, the more entries you're going to receive and we will announce a winner right here on the podcast near the beginning of next month. So if you're watching on YouTube, make sure you ring the bell so you can be alert when we have new shows up and claim your prize if you are that one lucky winner. And Derek, speaking of being lucky and winning, we need some sleeper stars to help get us into the fancy football playoffs and at the quarterback position, you're rolling out someone. I am also rolling out in my league of record this weekend.

[Seth Wilcox]

Oh yeah man. Like whether it's deep leagues or you have Drake man a buy or Brock per any one of these quarterbacks that are on a buy this week, you need to consider Tyrod Taylor. And just foreshadowing here, I did want to include we got two quarterbacks on the list this week because I think it's real man. Like yes, people having Drake may in so many leagues and not having him this week as well as like Jackson dart and what have you. Like that's a real thing. So we wanted to give options for the quarterbacks this week and Tyrod Taylor is firmly in play man. QB19 and ECR just had his second QB1 weekly finish of the season last week. You know you're getting rushing equity out of Tyrod. If he scores just a rushing touchdown, he probably is a QB one just automatically. But also the matchup is fantastic. Seth, like Miami, you still can't pass with a lot of success against them. Like since week nine they're giving up the 12th most yards per attempt, 12th most passing yards per game. So Tyrod, if he finishes as a QB one again this week, I will not be surprised, sir.

[Derrick Brown]

Dude, I'm here for it, right? I mean I always like to kind of fade the Dolphins in these December colder spots. They're coming up north to MetLife. So I really like what Tyrod's been doing, right? I mean he's finally made something out of John Mei and A.D. mitchell, two players that we've been just like Clamoring for, for at least a couple years now in the fantasy football realm. And he's getting the most out of them. Breeze Hall's been moving the sticks. And what I like about Miami, specifically some of this is the matchups they've had to deal with. But also over the last month alone, they're allowing the third most rushing yards to opposing quarterbacks per game. Tyrod Taylor, 44 rushing yards last week and then also back in his week three start when Justin Fields was sidelined with injury, 8 for 48. So two out of three weeks he's, he's been good on, on the ground, so I'm willing to roll him out. Like, are you more excited to play someone like Tyrod Taylor than let's say, like.

Sam Darnold?

[Seth Wilcox]

I think it's a real conversation and just to give context, I would play Tyra Taylor or the next quarterback that we're going to talk about this week over players like Tua, even Caleb Williams.

[Derrick Brown]

Williams.

[Seth Wilcox]

Justin Herbert probably too.

[Derrick Brown]

Okay.

[Seth Wilcox]

There's a conversation to be had even about Trevor Lawrence even though he's been playing better or. And even Sam Darnold.

[Derrick Brown]

Okay.

[Seth Wilcox]

So I think all these guys are in that kind of like Tyrod and the next quarterback we're going to talk about here are both in the that bucket of like borderline QB ones. And it depends on your matchup and how you want to splice it up.

[Derrick Brown]

Okay, let's go to that second quarterback and would you rather play them over Tyrod Taylor this week?

[Seth Wilcox]

I would rather play Tyrod over CJ Stroud, but I love CJ Stroud this week. I really do, man. And I think, you know, if you look at the season long stats and all that kind of stuff, are, are you painting a rosy picture for CJ Stroud? No. But the reality of it is you cannot run the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs. So if the Houston Texans want to get points on the board, they want to move the ball down the field, they're going to have to freaking throw it. And you could do that with a lot of success versus Kansas City. Since week nine, they're giving it the six highest yards per attempt, the fifth most passing yards per game, and the fourth highest success rate per drop back. And the other thing about it is we know that CJ Stroud can things kind of get wonky whenever he has pressure in his face and the pocket breaks down. Sure. Well, KC since week nine, 13th lowest pressure rate, so he should enjoy clean pockets. Patty Mahomes is going to push them on the other side, do I think that Casey has like comes out and scores 30 points against that defense? No, but Houston is going to be pushed to put up points in this game. And if the Texas defense can get home, maybe we're talking about some short fields for Stroud and that offense. Dude.

[Derrick Brown]

Yeah. I mean, look at some of the game logs recently against the Chiefs. We just had Dak Prescott on Thanksgiving night. 320 passing yards also went for two touchdowns. Daniel Jones a little bit limited in the passing yard department, but still found the end zone twice. It was even a pretty good day for Josh Allen on the ground when he faced the Chiefs last week in November.

[Seth Wilcox]

Nick's had a good game versus them. Just didn't get the touchdowns, but he had a good game too.

[Derrick Brown]

295. Yeah. So it's been really solid, honestly all the way around. The only issue I think I have with CJ Stroud, I actually had to make this decision. I originally picked up Strad this week and then I went back for Taylor and actually dumped Shroud for Taylor. I'm just worried, does this maybe turn into a dog fight, you think? And Kansas City can't score and maybe the Texans are content with maybe putting 20 points on and you know, just keeping this total low.

[Seth Wilcox]

I mean, that's possible. The other side of that is considering Casey's run defense. If they even put up 20 points, you're saying good point. They have two touchdowns. If both of those come through the air and not on the ground. So CJ Stroud throws for multiple touchdowns and then we're just having a conversation about yardage.

[Derrick Brown]

Okay. Okay, fair enough. Derek, let's go to your running back sleeper star of the week. Who do you have? My friend.

[Seth Wilcox]

Well, dude, I think that you could attack this from multiple angles, whether it's efficiency, whether it's role, whether it's matchup. And I think the narrative coming out of Los Angeles is real. I do think that they want to incorporate Blake Corum talked about this in the offseason.

[Derrick Brown]

Yes.

[Seth Wilcox]

Was I wrong on Jarz Hunter? Sure. But that's also because I thought Blake Coram like the early career at Michigan version of Blake Corum. Were we ever going to see that ever again? Because you didn't see in his final year in Michigan, you didn't see it in his rookie season. This year he's back to being the early pre injury version of Blake Corum and he's a strong flex play this week with the Rams wanting to keep Kyron Williams more fresh and and Limit his volume to a certain extent. Like dude, since week seven Blake Corum has averaged 10 carries and 44 rushing yards. I know that doesn't sound like a ton, but he popped off for over 80 last week. He has touchdown equity in this offense since week seven as well. Blake Corum has 12 red zone carries. So you're telling me if Blake Corm goes out there and say he rushes for 50 yards and he scores, he does anything in the passing game. So you're looking at like 12 points. You won't take 12 points in a PPR format or even like even in a half point format you won't take 12 points. That's probably better than most wide receiver threes score on a week and in PPR formats. What if the Rams blow out the Cardinals and then Corum gets the work to salt away the clock late? If that's the case as well, we're talking about Blake Corum could be an RB2 this week and the matchup is fantastic. Like again I talked about his efficiency is back. This dude is top 12 in explosive run rate and missed tackle rate.

[Derrick Brown]

Wow.

[Seth Wilcox]

And the Cardinals can't stop anybody on the freaking ground, man. Like six since week nine, they're giving up the eighth most rushing arts per game, the second highest missed tackle rate and the eighth highest explosive run rate. So we're discussing a player that could get live in the 10 to 15 touch range this week. He's efficient. He's playing a run defense that has given up efficiency to running backs and he has touchdown equity in the offense that he is in. Why not man? Why are we not talking about Blake Corum as a strong flex play this week?

[Derrick Brown]

Well, and to your point as well, the Arizona Cardinals, they have allowed the tied for the most touchdowns, two opposing running backs over the past month, seven as a whole, five of those on the ground, two through the air. So different ways that running backs are finding pater against Arizona. And honestly I loved Blake Corm as a prospect and a lot of that was because of his pre final year. Right? You, you kind of pointed out the injuries zapped him a little bit and we didn't really see that efficiency last year in this Sean McVeigh offense. And I was a guy, I can remember right where I was sitting. I was sitting on a bar or at a bar on the Dewey Shore there out in Delaware getting ready for a NASCAR race the next day when Blake Corn was drafted. And I was just so excited about this fit. I was all over Blake Corum a year ago in Redrafts it didn't work out. Spent a lot of 9th, 10th round picks on him but now he is starting to carve out a little bit of a role in we did talk to dan Pak Chona, Dr. Deepak Chona. That is on the Sunday night recap show Derek and he is expecting that this will linger as an injury and something that the Rams will likely take precautions as and split this backfield up more. So I don't think it's a 5050 share, but could Blake Corum see 40% of the touches? I think so, yeah.

[Seth Wilcox]

Yeah. I, I don't disagree with you. And yeah, I think Kyron's like his ankle injury is real and stuff like that. And want to talk about Blake Corum's already been like eating into the volume for Kyron to a certain extent. Could we see that even more this week with Kyron? Not 100% no matter what the Rams say. Yeah, absolutely. And especially the game script also probably favors him as well. It's just the way that I look at Blake Corum, I look at him as being an upgraded version of the same reasons that people want to flex Tyler Alier in a lot of weeks. Same player, same play.

[Derrick Brown]

Okay. All right. And before we get to the wide receiver sleeper starts, I will real quick reminder that you can dominate your fantasy football league with Fantasy Pros premium today now available for free for six months when you deposit and place your first wager at any of our partner sportsbooks. Yes. Including Hard Rock. Bet, baby. This is the easiest way to get full access to our top fantasy football tools all season long. Just go to fantasypros.com premium to get yourself started. And Derek, you're going back to this Texans Kansas City game in the wide receiver department to start us off.

[Seth Wilcox]

All right, man. So if we're talking about I'm high on C.J. stroud, then we, I mean somebody's got to perform in the passing game, right? Like giving you a rant about Dalton Schultz. Feel like that's too low hanging fruit. We're going with Jaden Higgins, dude. And this comes down to maybe people think that's well hanging fruit too because since week 10, Seth, I don't think a lot of people would tell you out there since week 10 they know that Jaden Higgins has been the wide receiver 24 in fantasy points per game. He has two top 24 weekly finishes. Since week 10 he's had an 18.5% target share. He's getting a lot of high leverage usage in this passing game of last four Games. Jaden Higgins has four red zone targets and five deep targets. Why do we care? Because those high cholesterol targets are what score fantasy points. You score touchdowns, you get big plays, you score fantasy points. And the KC has been giving it up to perimeter wide receivers since week nine. They're allowing the fifth most PPR points per target. Two perimeter wide receivers. The coverage matchup is good. It is just checking boxes for Jaden Higgins on the weekly dude. So, yes, people need to flex him. They need to play him. They need to play him over a lot of other kind of middling wide receiver options, man. Like, I'm down with playing Jaden Higgins over. I honestly would play him this week over my guy, Alec Pierce, because the coverage matchup isn't great for him. I think there's a conversation to be had of playing him over Brian Thomas Jr. Roma Dun Chris Godwin. If you wanted to go back to the Romeo Dobbs, well, Xavier Worthy, like, there's a lot of guys in that phylum of QJ where I'm like, yeah, I'm playing Jaden Higgins.

[Derrick Brown]

Yeah. Over the past month, he has ran the most snaps for this team in Houston. And as you mentioned, it is those like high leverage targets. Right. They're not just dink and dunk passes. They're over the middle. They. There are deep shots down the field and in the red zone. It feels a lot. Even last week, although he didn't find the end zone in that game, it felt like they were looking for him. Right. I remember multiple targets down inside the the 20 where CJ Stroud was looking for him in that game. And this is one against Kansas City. Like, in my mind, it's. They're going to have to probably shoot out, right. Or at least have to score some points here to beat Kansas City because that's how KC's kind of been playing lately. You know, there is always the, you know, proposition that I made earlier in the show that maybe Houston's defense is so good it locks them down. But I think Patrick Mahomes has something to say about that. I don't know if C.J. stroud's ever beat Mahomes head to head either. So kind of a fun rivalry going with the go of the NFL today. And one of the promising quarterbacks who. He's looked okay, right? He's C.J. stroud's looked okay since he's been back. I still, you know, like what Davis Mills did a little bit better, but C.J. stroud's been fine. Do you like Higgins rest of season, as well as he's someone that you think, oh, yeah, could also go out there against Arizona, Las Vegas and the Chargers to round it out.

[Seth Wilcox]

Oh, absolutely, man. Like, I think he's a wide receiver three moving forward. And if you were to tell me, because the, the, the big limiting factor for Jaden Higgins has been the route share. He's been stuck in this like 60 to 65% route share. Dude, if they were to just bump him up to like a set, like an 80% route share, he would be borderline like wide receiver two material. And I know people think that's crazy, but he's been crushing it every single week on a per route basis. I, I think he would be borderline wide receiver two territory if he had the 80% route share.

[Derrick Brown]

Okay. And Derek, you also have another wide receiver, this one feeling a little stinky over there along the shores of Lake Erie.

[Seth Wilcox]

Yeah, I know that people are going to have to. This is kind of a trust the process kind of thing. This is one of those where you're playing the matchup, you're looking at this and it's. I know it's not going to feel great about it, but Jerry Judy, wide receiver, 45 and ECR. He is an intriguing flex play. And if you need ceiling this week, and I know we haven't seen that because Jerry Judy, since week 12 with Shador Sanders, he's gotten a 15 target share. He's only averaged 32 receiving yards. But what I'm going to point to point out here is Shador has been throwing the ball down the field. He has the eighth highest deep ball rate in his last two starts. And the reason this all matters and why I think you can get ceiling out of Jerry Judy this week is he is owned the deep passing role in the Cleveland Browns passing attack. Over the last two weeks, he's gotten three deep targets. Now you, you match that up with a Tennessee secondary that has struggled against perimeter wide receivers and they've struggled to defend deep passing. Like, since week nine, Tennessee has given up the third highest deep ball completion rate and the second most deep passing yards per game. So is this more sketchy? Can it burn you? Yeah, it could. Also, is Jerry Judy somebody that you could pick up off the waiver wire? And dude, if he gets like 70 in a touchdown, 60 in a touchdown, you are feeling pretty freaking good about that in PPR formats or half point formats, and you'll take that from a flex play.

[Derrick Brown]

If I'm being honest, I actually kind of like the Browns this week from a betting standpoint as well. Darren?

[Seth Wilcox]

Oh, same.

[Derrick Brown]

I'm on their team. Total over 19 and a half points against the Titans right now. We're coming into a place where Cam Ward is just under duress all the time. Right. I mean he has been sacked more than any other quarterback in the NFL. Sack king Miles Garrett going to be across from. I think there's going to be some short fields for Cleveland. Tennessee has also allowed teams to get over 20 points in 11 of 12 games this season. And also like they haven't been a bad matchup for opposing quarterbacks. I know we're talking about the receiver specifically. They have not intercepted a quarterback in the last four weeks, Derek. And even if there is some weather up there along the shores of Lake Erie, I'm going to take Shador Sanders, a guy who played in Boulder, Colorado. Right. Like this isn't new to him. Oh yeah, he can play in the cold. And also Derek, the. The two times that the Browns were favorited in games this year, do you want to guess how many points they've scored?

[Seth Wilcox]

Oh geez.

[Derrick Brown]

25.

[Seth Wilcox]

I'll say off top of my head.

[Derrick Brown]

27 against the Jets, 2031 against Miami. They're 2, 08 yes in those games. So whenever they're favored, they're usually favored for a reason. Right? So I'm right there with you. I like the Browns as a whole. Hopefully you can translate to some production to Jerry Judy as well from the likes of Shador Sanders and D. Bro, let's go ahead and get out of here with your tight end a sleeper star of the week.

[Seth Wilcox]

I'm saying he's a sleeper because I don't understand why the hell he's being ranked where he's ranked. But he's tight end 16 so he makes the cut here. Dallas Goddard, dude is tight end 16 and ECR this week. I don't understand it but I'll take advantage of it. Dude, tight end 10 and fantasy points per game. This all comes back to it's a coverage matchup thing. It's, it's, it's his role in the offense. He has a high red zone role in this offense. Touchdown equity for days. But since week six the Bolts have used SEC Too high at the second highest rate in the NFL. Against too high, Dallas Goddard's numbers have all gone up. Seth, he has an 18.6% target share, a 21.1% first reach here. And the Chargers, on paper you would think they're a tough matchup at first glance, but the Problem is is that like yeah, sure they're giving up the six fewest receiving yards per game to tight ends, but that's wonky because they face the fourth fewest tight end targets per game. If you look at the deeper metrics, they've given up the 12th highest yards per reception to tight ends and the 8th most receiving touchdowns per game to the position. So it's like you would say oh well, fantasy points per game. But you can't score fantasy points if that position is not getting targeted by their opponents when have been targeted. Titans are producing handedly versus this past defense. So yeah, everything points to Dallas Goddard and he shouldn't be labeled or ranked as a tight end. 2. This week he will be a top 12 option for me and if he's out there, somebody dropped him or if you're in a shallow league and you're like I don't know who to play. Dallas, God baby, get him into a lineup.

[Derrick Brown]

I don't hate it. And I think the reason he is ranked so low is one Just like you said, on the surface it appears that the Chargers have been tougher against tight ends and I just think it's also because like people got really high on Dallas Goddard at the beginning of the season, right? Five straight games of double digit PPR points to open things up and it's kind of just been a slog since The Eagles Week 9 Buy right outside of the top 12 tight ends in all those games. But if there was a performance and a spot for him to maybe bounce back, could it be here? We'll see. And I'm excited to see if the Eagles have figured anything out since just a destructive Black Friday performance a week ago. Derrick Brown, thank you so much for your time today. Great analysis as always my friends. That is going to do it for us on this episode of the Fantasy Pros of Fantasy Football Podcast. Comment down below your favorite week 14 sleeper starts. We want to hear from you and let us know. Did you get your Christmas lights up yet? Are you going to have your Christmas lights up? What's going on with that? Make sure you're also subscribing if you're new. We really appreciate all you guys so much. For Derrick Brown, I'm Seth Wilcock. Take care y'. All. Thank you.

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[Seth Wilcox]

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